i) No book that was entered in a previous SPFBO can be reentered into SPFBO3.ii) The book must be #1 in a series or a stand-alone.iii) The book must actually be self-published by the start date, not something you're considering self-publishing in future.iv) It must be a fantasy book. (If you say it's fantasy then it is. But if it isn't really it won't get far.)v) Multiple books can be accepted from the same author, subject to rule (ii).vi) No anthologies.vii) No short stories.Not a rule, an observation: It doesn't matter how long your book has been published, Ten years? Fine.The bloggers who will consider the entries, and the duties they have volunteered for are given HERE.The winner will receive the prestigious Selfie Award but the true prize is the publicity of being the winner, plus the bonus of being reviewed on the blogs of 10 highly respected fantasy bloggers.

Frankly you can't buy better publicity than that. The winning book will have been selected as the best from a field of 250+ self-published works.And of course last year's winner got a major publishing contract within days of his victory. Which is nice.

All you have to do is email me the electronic manuscript ready for kindle/PC reading or (if one exists) the link to the FREE version on Amazon. You're welcome to include a cover letter, blurb, synopsis etc as you would for an agent - but it's not compulsory. These guys are bloggers, they're used to making up their mind by starting to read and seeing if they feel any compulsion to continue.

Email me at empire_of_thorns@yahoo.co.uk with the SUBJECT: Book Contest

I will be maintaining a list here of #SPFBO links to posts by the bloggers and also relevant blog posts about the contest. You may find other interesting links by Googling SPFBO or searching for the hash tag on twitter.

Hi Mark,I have a few authors I beta read for that are self-published and could benefit from your contest. However, while their stories include magic and alternate realities or made up worlds, their stories would be akin to "The Hunger Games" or "Divergent". Is that considered fantasy still or more science fiction and not eligible?

I have a series of standalone fantasy novels set in the same world that don't need to be read in order or even read the others to understand. Would it be alright to enter the "second" book in the series given that it is technically a standalone?

Hello Mark! Two questions (just to be on the safe side) ... 1.) I have a self-published fantasy that was published back in 2009 (is that title still eligible?) 2.) I have a stand-alone set in a fantasy world I'd also like to enter (published in 2015) - should I include both books in the same email? Thanks for the opportunity!!!!

Over 100 entries in 24 hours. You will not have any trouble hitting 300+I have seen this competition hit many author Facebook groups over the last 24 hours. Glad to say, I'm in :)My book was not finished in time for last year's competition, so I've been waiting for this for months.

I've got a friend who isn't very tech-savvy so I'm helping him publishing his really, really cool Epic Fantasy novels. I have a publishing company in Germany (my home country) where I publish only my own books. Would his books still be eligible?

My publishing company officially only publishes me. All I do is to help him publish his (I do the coding and help with cover art). Also I gave him a bunch of my ISBNs since he couldn't afford his own. He still publishes them through his own accounts.

If the book doesn't declare itself to be published by your company then the only reason we're having this discussion is because you brought it up and it is of no consequence. If it does, then my answer stands.

I'm going to be self-publishing another novel very soon, putting it up for pre-order in the next few days. I'm still writing and editing it, but am very close to finishing it. I'm assuming there's no way that I can enter SPFBO this year? (It's killing me that I didn't finish this book before SPFBO started!)

That's totally understandable. I'll wait until next year. Thanks so much for running this contest! It's awesome, both for the chance to have our work evaluated and for discovering new books to read. :)

Hi, I sent in my entry some days ago, but I don't see it on the list you put up. My book should fulfill all the criteria. Can you let me know if it for some reason was rejected for entry? Just so I know. The title is The Eagle's Flight, by Daniel Olesen. Thank you.

The publication date for my first novel is in the last week of June. If you receive 300 entries before that date, then the contest will begin on that earlier date, not July 1? Should I just send it in and hope that the contest begins on July 1?